I currently have an GTX 260 in a Dell XPS 8100. Can I upgrade to an 460?

It actually use less power according to nvidia.com so the power supply shouldn't be a problem, but it says the 460 card needs 6-pin & 6-pin Supplementary Power Connectors where 260 needs 6-pin x2, is that the same?

If I can upgrade, can I go any higher than 460 and be 100% sure I have enough power supply? I can't seem to see how much power it has, only that it says max 300w output.

I currently have an GTX 260 in a Dell XPS 8100. Can I upgrade to an 460?

It actually use less power according to nvidia.com so the power supply shouldn't be a problem, but it says the 460 card needs 6-pin & 6-pin Supplementary Power Connectors where 260 needs 6-pin x2, is that the same?

If I can upgrade, can I go any higher than 460 and be 100% sure I have enough power supply? I can't seem to see how much power it has, only that it says max 300w output.

same difference its 2 6 pin connectors. You'll need to read the fine print for the GPU to find the minimum requirements for the PSU. 300 is definitely not going to cut it.

---

In a rich man's house there is no place to spit but his face.
Diogenes Of Sinope

I would think that since the 460 card need less power than 260, the PSU must be big enough no matter the size of it?

I would think that since the 460 card need less power than 260, the PSU must be big enough no matter the size of it?

A lot of it would depend of CPU, and overclocking for the CPU and the GPU's. My rig is a i7 980x with two GTX 480's, and I'm pulling about 900 watts with just the tower. Once you overclock your video cards, they pull more power. This is especially true if you increase the voltages to maintain the over clocks.

Steve

---

Warning, addicted to SETI crunching!
Crunching as a member of GPU Users Group.
GPUUG Website

I have no plans of overclocking it :)

I have no plans of overclocking it :)

Then you should be OK, as long as your 12V rail can support it..

Steve

---

Warning, addicted to SETI crunching!
Crunching as a member of GPU Users Group.
GPUUG Website

I think his rails will hold it, if replacement parts are any indication a 300 watt Dell replacement has dual rails one is 8A the other 14A. As long as he isn't loading it up too much he may be ok. Just a note but Dell says those machines have a 350 watt which is even better. It's produced by Startech, neweggs information on that part number says 10A/15A for rails 1 and 2.

Under full load, I know Seti@Home doesn't push the card as hard as benchmarks like furmark, but the 460 will kill 270 Watts of power alone! And depending on chipset, motherboard, hard drives, and peripherals you could need an additional 200 watts total for the other parts, rated not actual. I would think about at least upping the power supply too if you are going that route so I wouldn't have to worry about it. I would pick at least a really good 500 watt. Not sure what prices look like there, but you can get a 500 watt supply for around $50-60.

Of course you could try the route a lot of people do, including my last debacle with a server build, and get your new card and see what happens. Worst case scenario you have blue screens and have to order another power supply and pop your old card in till you get a power supply. Just budget for that possibility before spending the money and hope for the best.

---

Traveling through space at ~67,000mph!

Looking at a reference GTX460 box here:
"Minimum 450W or greater power supply with a minimum 12v current rating of 24a"
*(minimum system requirements based on a pc configured with an Intel i7 3.2 CPU)

Another option to consider is one of them fancy drive bay GPU PSUs...
like this one

Good luck! Recommend you use CPUID HWmonitor...
Check to see the voltage of +12v under full load.
Mine 460 did use maybe 30% more watts than the 260....ymmv

---

"The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not Eureka! (I found it!) but rather, 'hmm... that's funny...'" -- Isaac Asimov

After some web searching, it seems the standard XPS 8100 PSU is 350 watts. A thread captured here includes a post stating that Dell underclocks the 260 to make it compatible with that PSU. Your results are showing "clockRate = 1080000" which I think would be 1242000 for standard clocking. That's a 13% underclock for the processors (shaders in graphics terms). GPU-Z would give the other two clocks.

Some Dell branches are selling XPS 8100 systems with GTX 460 cards, such as Dell UK, but they do not specify whether the GPU clocks have been adjusted or what PSU is included. It confirms that the basic idea is feasible, though.

In case you haven't thought of it, remember that the 6.09 stock app you're running anonymous platform is not Fermi compatible. The 6.10 stock Fermi app could be used, the FAQ: Run Seti Enhanced on Fermi class GPUs (4xx) (Advanced users) article Richard Haselgrove wrote should be very helpful. And of course the Lunatics 0.37 installer has the Fermi compatible x32f build.

                                                               Joe

270 Watts of power alone!

It's not alone.
At the bottom of diagrams - "Watts at socket".
Maximum power delivery to 460 is 225W - 75 from PCIe slot and 75W from each 6-pin connector.

Here is how much power uses an overclocked Zotac 460 AMP! Edition 1 GB, this time alone:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_GTX_460_Amp_Edition/29.html
Diagram with Maximum power has measurements during Furmark run, with games and SETI it will be much less.

Anyway, I wouldn't rely on this power supply.

---

personally.....i just chewed up a 450 watt power supply, on a gtx 450....i bought a 600 watt power supply, and it is stable as a rock.....no power fluctuations. steady voltages.....i would go to aa 700 watt power supply to protect your system...

:)

Well I ordered an 460 last night. I will assume the PSU isn't big enough (just so I wont get disappointed) and will have to get a bigger one :)

And Joe, I know about the 6.09 not being compilable with fermis :)

I got my Evga Superclocked GTX 460 today. I've tried it and all seems OK. But is it correct that running one task is slower than on my GTX 260? Running two tasks on 460 and it's faster:

1: 5m37s
2: 3m25s (6m50s)

(btw I had an unused PSU with 380w laying around and are using that)

John

yes

when you run one wu check your gpu utilisation will be approx 60%

when running two it will be approx 85+%

and if you have a 1gig ram card 3 wu will take it to 95+%

this is because the fermi cards are under utilised with the existing opp app as its only been very slightly tweaked for fermi - basically the optimisation currently is geared around 200 series cards

When the Lunatics guys get the time to optimise for fermi times will fall

---

Tim

Thanks Tim, now your saying it, I think I have read about it.

3 tasks at a time is best on my 1GB card.